


YouTube sensation

by Lea__aeL



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Probably more to come idk yet, Songs, Songs covers, Stanford University, UNC, US Women's Soccer National Team, University, YouTube
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:00:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28052811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lea__aeL/pseuds/Lea__aeL
Summary: Tobin is famous because of her soccer skills, everybody knows it. But what if she has other talents that no one, except her roommate and best friend, Allie, knows about?A video of Tobin playing guitar and singing is leaked and she ends up agreeing on creating a YouTube channel and posting covers to try to reach her crush, Christen Press.I'm not good at summaries, but try it? Maybe you'll like it!
Relationships: Alex Morgan/Kelley O'Hara, Kelley O'Hara & Christen Press, Kelley O'Hara/Christen Press, Tobin Heath & Christen Press, Tobin Heath/Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath/Allie Long, Tobin Heath/Christen Press, Tobin Heath/Kelley O'Hara
Comments: 26
Kudos: 114





	1. Bedroom Trip

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thanks for clicking. This is my first fic. I hope you'll enjoy it. English is not my first language so sorry for my mistakes and please let me know if there is any inconsistency.  
> Let me know what you think about the story, thanks again.
> 
> By the way, the song is Bedroom Trip by Luke Christopher.

Tobin has always been dreaming of this fame, not really for the fame itself but for the fact that she would be famous for some reason (rather it be for soccer than anything else). For her, it was more than just knowing that she was making a name for herself by playing for UNC. Being called up by the USWNT was awesome and she was more than pleased with the way her life turned recently, even if she had worked her whole life to get to that point.  
Never in her life, she would have thought that she could be more popular than she already was thanks to a video that was supposed to stay between her best friend and her.

***

_"Harry, I already told you to stop playing this song, I can’t take it anymore” Allie groans while she steps into Tobin’s bedroom._

_Tobin’s eyes shoot from the screen that she was watching while strumming her guitar, with a smirk. ”On the vodka, vodka, take another sip”._

_"Huhhhhh, stop it,” she says, throwing herself on Tobin’s bed. ”Please, you’ve been singing this exact same song since that party Harry.” Her voice was muffled because her face was on some pillows._

_Tobin stops playing and gets up, putting her guitar back at her place. ”Sorry Harry, KO’s fault, I think the song played like 3 times if not more.”_

_"Yes and so ?” Allie answers, she catches her best friend’s eyes and stares at her. ”I know you, you don’t usually sing a song this much if there isn’t any thought about it.” The blond smiles when she sees that her friend's eyes are finding something really interesting on the wall behind her. ”So? What is it? Because it’s probably not the vodka part that got you, is it ?” She asks with a satisfied grin._

_"Huh, can we like not talk about it now? I guess I’ll just stop playing this one and try to play another artist or whatever ?” She demands, there is no way that she’s gonna talk about it with her best friend._

_Allie can see the way the brunette’s jaw is tensed as she asks her to drop the subject. Eventually, she knows better than push the singer when she doesn’t want to talk about why she is locked with one song, but she’s come around when she’ll need her point of view._

_"Ok, you can play it, you know I like when you play guitar and sings Tobs, but not just this one, please.” She says with a little smile._

_When she closes the door she can see her best friend thinking, and she knows for sure that the subject is going to come back in their conversation earlier than she thought initially._

_***_

_Allie was watching some soccer game when she sees Tobin coming to her, and she knew, it was the moment._

_"Hey Harry, what are you doing ?” The singer asks while sitting next to the blond._

_"Listening to you and helping you now, I guess ?” She asks, muting the TV and turning towards the other girl._

_Tobin shakes her head a bit with a little smile, thinking that her friend knows her all too well._

_"You know, at this party, there were like some Stanford girls ?” She asks, looking at anything that’s not the blond eyes._

_"Yeah Tobs, it was Kelley throwing a party, so obviously, her best friends and teammates were there.” She says like it was the most logical thing in the world._

_"Huh, I might have a little crush on one of their forwards ?” She almost whispers like it was some math problem that Allie could solve._

_It took all she had to Allie to not laugh at her best friend because the brunette was anything but shy, she could be confident, cocky, funny, charming but it was probably one of the first time she saw Tobin being shy, and, on top of that, with her._

_"Oh you mean Christen Press right? The girl you look at a little bit too much every time we play Stanford? Or the fact that you’ve been extra clapping when she scores when they’re supposed to be our rival? Oh let me guess, is Christen the girl you’ve been avoiding all this party? Because I can swear that you’ve been everywhere in this house but not near her.” She knows it a bit harsh but she’s been waiting for this for way too long and she has to have a bit of satisfaction at the face that her best friend is making right now._

_"You knew ?” That was all Tobin could say._

_"Of course Harry, you’ve never been the kind to not be confident around girls, so I guessed it’s because you really like her ?” She challenges Tobin to say otherwise when both of them know she’s right._

_Tobin being Tobin just smiles a bit awkwardly and looks at her best friend._  
_”I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I just thought it was nothing. I thought I felt that because she is beautiful and that she’s Kelley's friend, and I don’t know? Oh my God, Harry, I didn’t even know before I decided to talk to you about it.”_

_"So what’s up with the song then ?” She pushes a bit, knowing that if Tobin wants to stop talking about it, she will tell her._

_"I guess I’m just… tired ?” She says, not sure about herself. When her best friend frowns, she adds, ”You know I kind of have this popularity about soccer, and girls,…” she tries to find the words she’s searching for, ”huh, and even guys,” she adds, kind of disgusted, ”try to get me to hook up with them and hit on me and I don’t want that anymore, I want someone that I can be with because of who I am not who they see on the field or what they can read…” she stops, looking at Allie, ”do you know what I mean Harry ?”._

_Allie doesn’t say anything and just hugs her._  
_”So Christen is it for you? Someone who can be with you for you ?” She asks carefully._

_Tobin laughs at that. ” I don’t know Harry, I don’t even know her, but I’d really like to get to know her and yes, I hope that she can be it for me.”_

_They don’t speak, they just hug and look at each other, and laughs a bit at that conversation when Tobin adds. ” But I don’t know her, she could be the worse human on this planet, she just seems so nice and genuine. But I guess, like everyone, I just know her for her soccer skills and medias.” She seems a little bit sad about that._

_Allie would never say it out loud but at that point, she made her mission to get Tobin to get to know Christen._  
_Because if Tobin said what anything to go by, she felt like Tobin ”having a crush” on Christen was probably a little bit too much of what Tobin was really feeling._

_***_

_Few days after that, Allie came back from uni when she heard the same song that her roommate promised to stop playing so much. Before she could go and yell at her about it she thought better and got her phone. She was very careful to not make any noise, and by chance, when she got to Tobin’s room, the door was ajar, so she took a video of Tobin strumming her guitar and singing._

"I know girls like you, I know girls like you  
Passive aggressive, mad at their ex's  
And they gon' whirl like you  
But some say love is overrated  
Some say love is getting faded  
I think love is finding that girl  
That's gonna stick with me when I'm famous  
Some say, people think it too much  
But they ain't thinking enough  
But she just wants a man that's lasting  
I just need some damn attraction  
We just need to set our boundaries  
You right there, me right here  
Used to be all in your ear  
I could see us in a year”

_When she stopped recording, she got back to the door and slammed it shut, so that Tobin knew she was home. She sent the video to Kelley saying ”Thanks for the song KO! She keeps on playing that vodka song, and she doesn’t even drink !!!” She followed the message with a few emojis laughing and closed the app before her roommate entered the room._

_***_

_”Allie Long, I’m gonna kill you,” she says when she enters the apartment._

_"Huh, why are you being so dramatic? What did I do this time ?” She asks with laughter._

_"You leaked a video of me playing guitar ?!!!!” Tobin answers, not so pleased about the fact that her phone was blowing from notifications for the last two hours._

_"Tobs, I didn’t? What makes you think I could’ve done that ?” The blond looks at her best friend and sees that she’s in trouble because even if she didn’t do it, the singer looks really upset about it._

_"Harry, don’t mess with me now,” she says while throwing her phone at her roommate, ”who could have taken that video? I’m in my room, playing that song that you hate so much.” She adds, her jaw setting. ”I know I said I would stop playing this fucking song, and believe me, I’m gonna stop now, but you could have said something before doing this and throwing me under the bus, you know I hate the extra attention.” She was clearly pissed about it._  
_As Tobin was becoming a little redder by the minute, Allie looked at the video on Tobin’s screen, which was uploaded on YouTube. She realized her mistake._

_"Okay Harry, I’m sorry, I did take the video, but I never posted it, and I wouldn’t have done it without your consent.” She pauses, giving Tobin her phone back and searching for her own. She opens her conversation with Kelley and holds out her phone to the other. ”I send it to KO, it was just to annoy both of you, because I thought she would send you a message, but obviously she had better plans.” She says, calmly._

_Tobin looked at the exchange of messages, Kelley saying that she didn’t even know that she could sing and play guitar, and some Kelley comments on getting girls easily (which made Tobin smile, because it’s Kelley). She looked back at her best friend._

_"Sorry Harry, I really thought it was you, I mean, you’re obviously the only one able to take that video, otherwise, it means someone had to break in…” she says with a little grin, ”I’m gonna call Kell and kill her” she adds before hugging quickly her best friend and going into her room._

***

It was almost a month later that Tobin entered her apartment to Allie with Kelley on FaceTime.

”What’s up Tobs ?” She asks when Allie turned the camera so that she saw Tobin coming through the door.

"Hey Kell, waiting for the next game to kill you for leaking the video, and you?” She answers with a smirk.

"Oh cool, you’re talking about that video, I was talking to Allie about you starting a YouTube channel to cover songs, there are a lot of demands of fans, on your socials, Allie’s and mine. So we created you an account, you just have to cover and do your thing Tobs. Now that I’ve dropped the bomb, I’m gonna go, Christen just got home, see you losers.” She says as fast as she could, hanging up.

Tobin looked annoyed, angry, and then a little flushed when she heard the name Christen.

Allie was trying to find a way to get Tobin to not be mad at her, but before she could say anything her best friend smiled and said ”Okay, I’ll do it.”

And the blond knew that Tobin was thinking that if doing covers was a way of getting girls, maybe it could, at least, get her to talk to her crush.


	2. Bonfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real beginning of the YouTube Channel.  
> A bit of what happened to the party Allie was talking about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo I guess this story will be more than just a one-shot!  
> Thank you to everyone who read this, added kudo, and commented.  
> You encouraged me to continue this story and I hope you'll like it.
> 
> Honestly, I'm not very satisfied with the last part but I guess that should do :(
> 
> Feedbacks (both good and bad) are always welcomed!
> 
> The song is Bonfire by Childish Gambino.

Getting a call up for a national team camp was always good news for Tobin, but it was even more when she knew that she would see Kelley and get her payback for the video.

Eventually, she leaked a video of Kelley snoring and drooling on her pillow while she napped which resulted in giggles from the Stanford girl.

Tobin knew that even if she would have fun being with one of her best friends on the national team for a few days, the subject that she kind of avoided since the phone call between her roommate and Kelley would be brought back.

They were on the beach with the team, a few minutes of walk away from the hotel, celebrating some girl’s birthday with a bonfire when Kelley started snapping some pictures and videos.

The music in the background could be heard, because, of course, having a birthday party, or at least, what seemed to be one, without music wasn’t possible. So that’s how Kelley started to record a video of the bonfire they have gathered around when Tobin came up on the frame, untangling from her hug with Lauren, and started singing :

  


"It’s a bonfire, turn the lights out

I'm burnin' everything you muthafuckas talk about

It's a bonfire, turn the lights out

I'm burnin' everything you muthafuckas talk about"

  


Kelley’s laughter can be heard when she stops recording and smiles at Tobin, holding her phone to the other girl so that she can see what she just did, she can see Lauren rolling her eyes at their playfulness and leaving them to find Amy.

They laugh at the video and Tobin starts to walk away, pretending to go talk to some other players when Kelley stops her by putting her hand on her arm.

"Hey Tobs, you didn’t start this YouTube channel, did you ?" She asks with a smirk. The only answer she gets from the other is an eye roll. "I knew it, Allie told me you said yes way too fast to be actually serious about it" she adds, "it’s been like 3 weeks since we talked about it? Allie said that I had to let you get on it, but you weren’t serious, you just said yes so we wouldn’t piss you off with it ?"

Tobin knew exactly why she said yes in the first place and why she didn’t start it (yet?).

She knew far too well that she wouldn’t get any closer to Christen with a stupid Youtube channel, and that if she wanted to talk to the girl she would have to do it when she would see her. As far as she knew the forward wasn’t interested in her because whenever she was with Kelley and they called, she never said a word to her.

"Earth to Tobin Heath ?" Kelley says with fingers snapping in front of Tobin’s eyes.

"Huh, yeah sorry dude," she says, "I planned on starting it, I was serious, I was just too busy to really begin and plan how to do it." She adds, knowing that Kelley wouldn’t buy her shitty excuses. "It’s not like I know anything about recording a video, instruments, my voice, or even posting on YouTube" she admits with a light shrug.

"Good thing you have me in your life then," the smaller answers with a big smile, "you’ve got your guitar, right ?"

Tobin just nods and furrows her brows.

"Let’s get it, we’re going to record your first cover Tobito !" She tells her friend with enthusiasm.

"What ? No? I don’t even know what to sing? I’m not ready Kel!" Tobin says with a little panicked tone.

"Relax Tobs, you can take 5 minutes to choose your song, you can even call Allie if that’s what it takes for you to agree to do it right now." Kelley takes Tobin’s hand and guides her towards the hotel room that they share.

  


***

  


That’s how Tobin ends up calling Allie to ask her what should be her first cover.

"But Harry, this is special, this is the first one, people will criticize if I don’t choose the good one." She complains.

"Okay okay, why don’t you start with the reason you’re singing? Like with this vodka song ?" Allie answers with a shrug.

"You mean Bedroom Trip? Yeah, but this song is not really a good one, it’s talking about alcohol and getting girls, that’s not what I want my covers to be about." She mumbles.

"How do you even… forget it. Harry, take five minutes and think about what you’re feeling, and then you’ll know what you want to sing. Think about what’s on your mind." She says with a wink, "I’m sorry I’ve got to go, call me when it’s posted so I can react to it live! Love you Harry" she adds just before hanging up.

Tobin groans, no only Allie didn’t help her at all but she also helped her remember that people will see that damn video.

"So ? Allie told you what song to sing ?" Kelley asks when entering the room.

Tobin just let herself fall on the bed behind her and sighs. She takes her phone and plays some playlists, trying to feel something off of the songs.

"No she didn’t, she just said to sing what’s on my mind, as if anything on my mind except soccer right now" she whines, putting an arm across her face, covering her eyes.

"Thanks Allie" Kelley chuckles.

  


***

  


Kelley was just sitting on the bed in front of Tobin, waiting for her to pick a song and getting started on recording the video. She was just scrolling on Twitter, humming softly to the umpteenth song that was playing in the room when her phone rang.

Tobin just stops the music but stays on her bed, waiting for the other girl to answer.

"Hey Kels, I’m sorry to call you, I know you’re at camp now, I just wanted to know if you were okay and tell you that I’m going to my parents’. I’ll probably still be there when you’ll come back from camp." Christen’s voice announces through the phone.

Tobin stops her breathing when she hears her voice and looks at Kelley.

"Hey CP, yeah I’m fine, waiting for my roommate to make her mind so I’m a little bored but it’s okay. Tell them hi for me. When do you come back ?" Kelley answers while standing, crossing the room to take her call on the hall.

Tobin glares at Kelley when she hears the other girl talk about her. She knows that at some point if she stays on her bed, she’ll be on the frame, and she wants to look good for Christen, not like a depressed girl or whatever.

She gets up and follows Kelley, coming to the frame of the FaceTime.

"Hi Christen, what’s up ?" She says with a wave and a smile.

Kelley seems surprises about Tobin’s behavior because she knows for sure that the two of them never talked, not outside of a soccer field, at least. But when she turns again to her phone, the surprise was probably an understatement because Christen looked anything but surprised, probably more like shocked.

Few secondes go by with any of them saying anything.

"Hi Tobin, I’m good thanks" Christen replies with a small, almost shy smile.

Tobin feels her heart break a little when Christen doesn’t ask about her, and that when she got her idea, she knows what’s on her mind, other than soccer, she knows what she’s going to sing about.

"I’ve got the song, Kell, I’m going downstairs, meet me there when you’re done." she says without even looking at the phone in her roommate’s hand. She can see her nod and resume her conversation on the phone.

She grabs her guitar, her computer, and heads to the door. She smiles at her friend and shouts "Bye Christen", and without waiting for an answer, that she knows she probably won’t have, closes the door behind her.

  


***

  


_As usual, they end up at Kelley’s party because she’s probably the best party thrower and they know that they don’t have that much time together so they try to make the best out of it._

_"I’m gonna grab something to drink Harry, do you want anything ?" Allie shouts trying to be heard over the music._

_"Nah I’m good thanks, I’m gonna try to find KO" the brunette answers with a smile._

_She can see her best friend moving her way through the crowd to get her cup of alcohol. She goes to the backyard, knowing that’s where she’ll probably find Kelley. Before she can see her, she hears her laughing at some jokes and she knows she’s on the way to her but she stops dead on her track when her eyes meet the tan skin of Christen Press. The forward is talking to some guy and has a little smile on her face, and Tobin swears that she wants the forward to smile at her this way, but all she can think of right now is that Christen Press is way too beautiful for her, and way out of her league. So without further thinking, she backtracks and goes back inside the house._

  


_***_

  


_That’s where Allie finds her a little over an hour after they get to the party._

_"Hey Harry, didn’t you find KO? She’s in the backyard, come with me, I thought that you were searching for her and she said she didn’t see you at all" Tobin sighs, she can see, and smell that Allie is probably already at her third drink._

_Allie takes her hand and lifts her from the couch she found some confort when coming back inside._

_Her best friend talks to her about some cute guy that she talked to, but all Tobin can focus on is that she really hopes that Christen is not outside with Kelley._

_"Tobitoooooo !" Kelley shouts when she sees her friend, and before Tobin can react she’s tackled to the ground and laughing with Kelley’s antics._

_"You’re the worst Kell" she chuckles, forgetting about people around them, smiling at the pair reunion. "Dude, I love you but could you please move? Not that you’re fat or anything but I can’t breathe" she adds, faking choking on air._

_"Yeah obviously, I’m fat, says the girl who eats pizza when I eat vegetables! Do you even know what you can eat anything without cheese on it ?" Kelley teases while standing, offering Tobin a helping hand._

_When both of them are finally standing and ready to go over to the couches that Kelley was initially sat in with some of her friends, Tobin sees that Allie and Christen are talking and the brunette’s eyes are on her._

_Tobin’s eyes immediately shoot to Kelley, and mumbles "I’m gonna get a beer, d’you want anything Kell ?"._

_Kelley doesn’t really know what to say of the situation she just witness so she just answers no and goes back to her seat._

_Tobin is already back in the house and doesn’t hear Allie asking Kelley where she’s gone._

  


_***_

  


_This time she’s in the kitchen, looking at the alcohol in her cup when Allie finds her._

_"Harry, what the fuck? It’s the second time you disappear tonight? Are you alright? Do you want to leave ?" She babbled, and Tobin knows she had more to drink than she thought she would have._

_"No, it’s fine but you’re drunk now, aren’t you ?" She chuckles, "Do you want to go ?" She adds, using her best friend inebriety as an excuse to leave this party that has been too weird for her was a good plan._

_Except Allie was having a blast. "I don’t want to go, Harry, we won’t be seeing KO and Chris that often, come with us outside, it’s soooo hooooot inside, please." She insisted._

_"Fine Harry, I’ll be here in five, let me go to the bathroom first." She answers with a soft smile._

_That’s how she ends up drinking her full cup so fast she wants to throw up as soon as it’s swallowed, she hates beer._

_When she spots her best friends she’s so happy to see that Christen isn’t near them that she lets a breathe that she didn’t know she was holding._

  


_***_

  


_She's way too drunk to deal with the beautiful Christen that’s coming to them._

_"Hey Harry, I’m going to head back, I don’t feel so good, stay here, have fun, don’t do think I wouldn’t do" she laughs and kiss both Kelley and Allie’s heads._


	3. Ready Or Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of how Tobin and Kelley became friends, more of how Tobin fell for Christen without even realizing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I'm hoping you're still following me on this adventure.
> 
> Feedbacks are always welcomed, kudos too, to let me know you're still enjoying this story!
> 
> I totally forgot but the song is Ready Or Not by Bridgit Mendler by the way.

"He-e-ey

He-e-ey

Ooooh

I'm the kinda girl who doesn't say a word

Who sits at the curb and waits for the world

But I'm about to break out, about to break out

I'm like a crook tonight"

Tobin was always the girl who was not really interested in the fame itself. And, as a result, she didn’t respond well to being around cameras.

She was not shy (except if she was around a girl she liked aka Christen Press) she was more in her own world, in her own head most of the time.

That’s why nobody asked if she was okay when the team came back to the hotel and saw her in a chair, strumming lightly her guitar and humming a soft tune, focused on her computer screen.

***

"I caught you staring at me and I was thinking clearly

Now I'm like a bee and I'm huntin' for the honey

And I'm kinda shy but, you're super fly, yeah

I could be your kryptonite"

_It was their first game against Stanford and Tobin was waiting to face this Christen Press that she has been hearing about since the beginning of the championship. Some girl that was on the way to break Stanford records and be a soccer superstar if she believed what she read about the striker._

_As usual during her warm-up she was playing around with a ball at her feet, focusing on her soccer when she heard footsteps coming in her direction._

_When she looked up she saw Allie and her teammates coming to the field with few balls at their feet. She was about to move so she could pass the ball with her best friend when she caught the most beautiful woman she ever saw starting at her._

_When their eyes meet, the girl faked being interested in the ball at her feet. Tobin tore her gaze off of the girl when Allie pushed her a bit._

_"What’s up Harry ?" She asked with a soft smile."Are you already searching for your meg victim of the day ?" She teased while juggling a ball._

_Tobin chuckled as she looked at her friend. "Hey you know that Press girl everyone is talking about, do you know if she’s playing today ?" She questioned._

_As they pass the ball around, Allie seems to take a look at the other team._

_"Yeah, she’s number 23" she answers simply._

_When Tobin followed her best friend's gaze, she gulped a bit. The beautiful girl was this Christen Press._

***

As she thinks about the first time she saw Christen, Tobin can’t stop wondering how she could be so blind about her own feelings for the forward. It’s obvious to her that the girl took her breath away from the beginning. But now, rehearsing for a song she’s going to post on YouTube, and probably make a fool of herself, she realizes that she needs to talk to Christen and stop avoiding her, even if their encounter on the phone wasn’t really convincing.

"Like ohhh

Light my heart up, baby, like a matchstick

Ohhh

And hit the gas quick

Ready or not, here I come

Where you at? The night is young

In the crowd the music's loud but I will find you

Ready or not, here I come

I like your face, do you like my song?

Just sing it la la la la la la la and I'll find you

Ready or not

Ready or not"

She knows for sure that the main reason she’s doing this covers thing is to get Christen's attention and probably also a bit because she won’t ever be as confident to say those words to her as she would if she pretends it’s just for fun and music.

The first step to her plan to get Christen to like her, as a friend, at least (she thinks, to stop feeling like a coward) is to be friendly to her whenever she can, and in the meantime start to declare her love through covers.

***

Kelley was finally here and they moved back to the bonfire, hoping it’ll still be burning. Kelley insisted on Tobin being around the fire, and she started recording when the girl was playing. Tobin being Tobin she never looked at the camera during the whole cover, but still, it was a good first shot.

***

_Tobin really met Kelley at national camp but they’ve known each other for a long time because they were rivals, Tobin being at UNC and Kelley at Stanford. At first, Tobin didn’t really pay attention to the new girl around, being with Lauren and Amy was enough for her. Even if she was one of the younger girls on the team Kelley was so confident and loud, Tobin found it annoying at the beginning. But if she was totally honest, she envied Kelley for being herself even if she was supposed to be impressed by the team and probably shy, she just thought that if she could be this comfortable around anybody it’ll be easier for her around cameras._

_"Hey Tobito, can I join on the juggling challenge you’re doing ?" A voice asked._

_As Tobin spun around, wondering who was asking if it was okay to join her (everybody on the team knew that Tobin was more than okay to have a buddy to play with any time), and furthermore, calling her some stupid nickname._

_She wasn’t even surprised when she saw that it was Kelley O’Hara._

_"What did you just call me dude ?" Tobin muttered, in disbelief._

_"Tobito, it’s like a cool nickname, I like it." She shrugged, with a small smile, "I saw you were avoiding me since we came here. I thought it was going to be cool to play with you, but I guess even if we’re on the national team together it doesn’t mean we’re on the same team" she mumbled before turning back._

_"Hey, O’Hara, stop" she requested, following the Stanford girl. When Kelley stopped and turned around, facing Tobin again she was meet with an offering hand._

_"Hello my name is Tobin, but you can call me Tobs," she smiled, "but I guess for you it’ll be Tobito or whatever, dude" she adds laughing._

_***_

_"No Tobito, for real, you can stay here if you ever decide to come to Cali for a while." She says over on FaceTime._

_"Who’s gonna come now, babe ?"A voice asked entering the apartment._

_"Gonna go Tobs, see you later and tell me if you ever decide to come around" she smiles before ending the call._

_"You can’t be serious with this ‘babe’ thing Chris" Kelley laughed while standing up and following her roommate to the kitchen._

_"I thought it was that girl you had a crush on, so I was thinking maybe she’ll get jealous and finally give you a chance to take her to a first date." She shrugged with a smile, putting away her groceries._

_"Oml, I’m never gonna live that down? I just said that the girl was pretty, not that I wanted to date her or anything" the freckled girl rasped, helping the brunette. "By the way it was her, it was Tobito, she’ll probably crash here a day or two around summer."She adds, "I was planning on asking you if it was okay but you came back calling me babe, and…" she hesitated, "she’s really into God…"_

_Christen turned over and her face was pale. "I’m so sorry Kels, I didn’t know, otherwise I wouldn’t have called you babe… You didn’t tell her that you were into girls?" She double-checked to be sure she understood the implication of Kelley’s unspoken words._

_The other girl just shook her head no. "It’s not like we are best friends or anything, she’s a friend but we don’t know much about each other" she muttered, "plus I’ve got you, don’t need any other best friend" she chuckles lightly._

"Hello my name is **Tobin** (Kelley insisted on doing an apparition and saying the "Tobin" part)

Nice to meet you

I think you're famous, where have I seen you?

You'll be my William, I'll be your Kate

Livin' like a fairytale"

***

_Kelley was relieved when she received a text from Tobin, a few weeks after the call, saying that she was going to come to Cali. The freckled girl was more than happy to offer a place to crash to her friend._

_"Hey dude, I think you gave me the wrong address," Tobin said through the phone, "I’m in front of a fucking apartment building, and if you’re really living here I need to ask the national team’s staff why I’m making less money than you" she teased._

_"Yo Tobito, just get in, it’s the good one" she answered laughing._

_***_

_"Man, how can you afford a place like that ?" Tobin asked after Kelley gave her a tour._

_"Huh, some savings, help from my parents, working and a roomie" she shrugged, knowing far too well that if she said anything about Christen paying more than her part of the apartment she’ll be pissed._

_"Wow, it’s a great place, I’m gonna come to Cali a lot more" she smiled, not really bothering how they paid the rent, just surprised to not find a little apartment as she shares with Allie._

"We could have a palace right next to Oprah

37 cars and a yacht down in Boca

Take me away, wherever you say

Yeah, we could be setting sail

Like ohhh

Light my heart up, baby, like a matchstick

Ohhh

And hit the gas quick

Ready or not, here I come

Where you at? The night is young

In the crowd the music's loud but I will find you

Ready or not, here I come

I like your face, do you like my song?

Just sing it la la la la la la la and I'll find you

Ready or not

Ready or not, not"

***

When Tobin thinks about how shy and anxious she was around Christen at Kelley’s party, she thinks of how bad she probably made the girl feel. She eases her mind saying that Christen most likely wasn’t even aware that she was the one making Tobin run away from the party and her friends.

But at the same time, Christen didn’t even ask her if she was okay when she was on the phone with Kelley earlier.

The girl might not even like her, probably even despise her, she was just being polite by saying hi.

"Ready or not, here I come, here I come

You're like a breath of fresh air in my lungs

You and me dance from the night to the dawn

Ready or not, here I come, boy, it's on

Ready or not, here I come, here I come

You're like a breath of fresh air in my lungs

You and me dance from the night to the dawn

Ready or not, here I come, boy, it's on

Ready or not, here I come

Where you at? The night is young

Yeah, in the crowd the music's loud but I will find you

Ready or not, here I come

I like your face, do you like my song?

Just sing it la la la la la la la and I'll find you

Ready or not

You're like a breath of fresh air in my lungs

Ready or not (here I come)

Woahh, ohhh

Ready or not, ready or not

Ready or not

Ready or not, ready or not

Boombada, oombada, oombada

Ready or not"

Like she said during the whole song, she was ready, ready to go get her girl, ready to restart from the beginning with Christen, and if the girl wanted her as a friend she was okay with it. She just needed to be in the beautiful girl’s life.

Kelley was on her computer, editing the videos they took during the last few hours. She was so focused, Tobin knew she needed to immortalize this sight of Kelley being calm and collected on anything else than soccer.

She decided to send it to Allie, with some caption saying "Never saw her shut up more than a few seconds, that’s what silence is like ?" She added a few emojis laughing.

After five times of opening and closing Christen Press Facebook’s page, she makes up her mind and sends the same picture but with a whole different caption, remembering her first call with Kelley. She needed to make sure of something because they never really talked about it.

"Did you see your girl this focused on something that’s not soccer ?".

All the bombs were dropped, she just needed to wait and see what will happen next.


	4. Retro (Rough)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some U.S. Soccer vid remastered, some jealousy and some explanations.
> 
> Oh, by the way, Baby Horse Alex is in the place!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't say it enough but thanks for your support.
> 
> Here (https://spoti.fi/2KN0TNs) is a playlist with the songs that inspire this story, you can always go and add some if you want.
> 
> The song is Retro (Rough) by Childish Gambino (we'll just say that Tobin is really into his songs recently, nothing to do with me).

As usual, when they’re in camp, they end up doing some videos for the U.S. Soccer channel on Youtube. Tobin is so thankful that she’s doing it with Lauren today, she knows she doesn’t have to worry too much about it because she’s with one of her best friends so it’s going to be okay.

***

"Hey Tobs, you’re ready ?" Lauren smiles, knowing that Tobin isn’t really comfortable being in front of the cameras.

Tobin just nods and does as she told, standing next to her friend.

"Should I put my hair up?" Lauren asks the guys behind the cameras, Tobin just sniffs, without even noticing it. Like I said, not really good with cameras.

But she knows she has to be her chill self in front of the cameras so she just jokes around and asks the same question not even thinking someone would answer.

***

"…and she’s from Indiana Police, Indiana" Tobin smirks, thinking she crushed it.

"… she’s one of the craftiest players I’ve ever played with," Lauren says a few minutes after, Tobin is playing with something on the ground, not as much confident as Lauren.

"We have Baby Horse Alex," Lauren says and Tobin is laughing at the bomb Lauren just dropped with the new kid’s nickname.

"Heck yeah, everyone comes to Lauren for advice, duh, look at her," Tobin answers the question, as Lauren turns around showing her clothes, the younger player remembers she’s filmed, "just kidding" she adds laughing, seems a little awkward by what she just said.

"Lauren, is it true that Tobin can sing and play guitar ?" A voice asks behind the cameras.

"Oh yeah, it’s true, I mean, didn’t you see her YouTube Channel? She posted like yesterday her first cover, you should check it out !" She smiles and looks at Tobin who is ill-at-ease with the question.

***

"Kels, did you say to Tobin that we were together ?" Christen asks when her friend appears on the screen, looking a little pissed about it.

"What? No! She doesn’t even know I’m gay, how could I tell her ?" Kelley answers with surprise.

"Why did she send me a message saying that you were my girl then ?" She complains, throwing her phone on her bed.

"I don’t know CP, nobody on the team knows. Maybe she thinks it’s because we live together she came to the conclusion," She thinks, "or maybe because it seems that you can’t live a day without calling me" she adds with a smirk.

"Shut up Kels, it doesn’t mean that I am your girlfriend, dumbass" she retorts, "I’ve never date anyone so nobody can know if I’m straight or…" She’s cut off by Tobin walking through the door.

"Hey Kell, I’m gonna grab some food with Cheney, d’you wanna come ?" She says, without looking in the room, throwing stuff on her bed and changing her shirt.

"Hi Tobin".

Tobin head shoots up and see Kelley, with her phone in her hand, she’s not sure if Christen saw her half-naked but she gulps as she looks at her roommate.

"Hey Christen, sorry I didn’t know you were on the phone, I’m gonna go. See you" as usual when she walks on the two of them being on the phone she heads out without waiting for an answer.

"She’s always that distant ?" Christen asks when she hears the door closes and Kelley shifting back to her place on her bed, her back against the door and therefore, Tobin’s bed.

"No, but since she thinks we’re together she probably wants to leave me some time with you" she shrugs.

"And since when does she walk half-naked around you? Because if she knew you were gay she’d probably go to the bathroom to undress, you know, you’re probably looking at her" she teases.

"Yeah yeah obviously, because I’m gay means I want all of the girls" Kelley answers before flipping her off.

***

Few hours after the video shoot, Tobin is watching the video on the TV in the meeting room before it’ll be uploaded.

"Why I am so awkward ?" she mumbles under her breath.

"You’re not, it’s kinda cute," a voice says behind her. She turns around and smiles at Alex Morgan.

"Oh no really, it’s not cute at all, I’m not like this usually, it’s just that cameras aren’t my thing" she smiles to the forward.

"Yeah well, kill me because Lauren just sold my nickname to the world" Alex answers with a laugh. "You were as surprised as me, that’s for sure" she adds pointing to the TV, where we can see Tobin opening her mouth and laughing.

"I swear I didn’t know, otherwise I would have told the world before her" she jokes, looking at the screen.

Alex says nothing and they stand here watching the interview. Tobin checks her phone but they’re no answer from Christen, so she guesses that the girl doesn’t want to talk to her.

Alex nudges her and tilts her head in the direction of the TV. They’re talking about Tobin singing and before she knows it she sees short footage of herself when she arrived at the stage they were shooting on, she singing because obviously that’s what she’s doing when she’s not on the field plus there’s like 2 people around her.

"We can go together

It doesn't really matter

We can get there

We can do it if we try

You know that I love you

Put no one else above you

We can get there

We can do it if we try"

Just after that, we can see five seconds of her cover on YouTube and it’s back to their interview.

"I didn’t know you were that good of a singer, and playing guitar, wow, tell me what you’re not good at" Alex praised the girl next to her.

"Huh, cameras ?" Tobin responds bluntly.

Alex just laughs at the answer.

When Tobin turns around to leave she sees Kelley and goes to her, but her friend mumbles something about going back to their room.

***

A few hours after, Tobin comes back to her room, leaving Lauren and Amy’s.

When she enters she can see Kelley on her phone.

"What’s up, dude ?" Tobin asks, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Nothing" the other answers dryly.

"Is it because of the interview? I saw you leave after I watched it" she says, wondering what could piss Kelley off so much.

"No." That’s when she realizes, what could make Kelley angry.

"I’m sorry I overstepped, I shouldn’t have text Christen" she apologizes, looking at the floor.

She doesn’t understand how, but a few seconds after she hears a laugh, Kelley’s laugh.

"What did you say Tobito ?" She giggles, "You can text Christen if you want, I don’t care." She adds.

"Is it the pic then? That got you mad at me ?" Tobin inquires, why she had to be so oblivious of everything every time?

"Tobito, I’m not mad at you about Christen" she reckons, "and by the way, we’re not together, I don’t know where you got this but she’s my best friend and roommate like Allie is yours" she states.

Tobin looks at her roommate and opens her mouth a few times, not knowing how to take the news that the girl she likes is single, not dating one of her best friends and that Kelley was mad at her for whatever reason she ignored.

"But you’ve got something right out of it, I’m gay. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier but you’re a believer so I thought you wouldn’t approve and I didn’t to lose you to something this stupid.." She murmured, "or I guess not stupid but not that important and…" she rectifies before getting cut by Tobin.

"That’s okay Kell, I know you meant well, and I can’t get mad at you for hiding the truth to someone who could react badly to this announcement. Who you are is important, you just have to know that I’m really happy that you’ve told me." Tobin answered with reassuring words. "But dude, I still don’t know why you’re pissed, and that scares me because I thought it was about Christen" she adds, looking confused.

"You’re flirting with Alex" she announces her jaw set, looking straight into Tobin’s eyes.

"I’m what? No no, we were talking about the interviews," Tobin stutters, "How do you even know I’m gay? I mean… How do you even know she’s gay ?" She asks, caught by the seriousness of the conversation, "and why do you care ?" She teases.

"I didn’t know you were gay and I don’t know about her but straight girls flirt too, it’s not a gay exclusivity !" Kelley snaps at her friend. "I don’t care, at all." She adds, crossing her arms and frowning her brows.

"Yeah obviously dude, " Tobin sneer looking at Kelley like she was a five years old pout because she wanted ice cream, "you don’t care." She pauses, "Well if you don’t care you won’t mind that I’m spending the night with her then, she asked me over" she smirks, standing and faking getting ready to leave.

"You what? You’re going to bang her ?" Kelley shouts, standing up and coming at Tobin who puts her hands up in surrender.

"Okay, so you like her, cool, thanks for the heads up. And no, I’m not gonna bang her, as I said, we just talked about the interviews" she murmured.

"You’re a jerk Tobito." Kelley says while going back to her bed.

***

It was late in the evening when her phone lits up on her bed. Kelley hasn’t really moved since their conversation about Alex earlier, they didn’t talk, were on their phones and just watched TV.

**Christen Press sent you an invitation.**

**Christen Press**

**Never seen her so focused on anything other than soccer.**

She definitely couldn’t stop smiling but didn’t know what to answer the pretty girl.

***

"Good night Tobito, don’t stay up too late." Kelley says with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Good night Kell" Tobin answers without lifting her head from her phone.

"You could’ve told me you were crushing on my best friend" she adds, looking at her friend.

"Yeah but I thought you were together" Tobin says without thinking then she turns her head so fast to see the smirk on Kelley’s face that she’s not sure she didn’t snap something in her neck.

"I knew it !" The freckled girl beams.

"Please, don’t tell her Kell…" she pleads.

"Yeah don’t worry, I’m not gonna tell my best friend that my other best friend is crushing on her, it’s gonna be so fun to watch" she giggles.

"We’re gonna talk about it when you’ll be around Alex, you won’t be laughing that much." Tobin shrugs.


End file.
